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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

If you follow me on Instagram (storke103), you probably already know these last few days have been a complete rollercoaster. Most of you have 'met' my adorable kitty, Eddie, in previous posts. He's my little darling and I absolutely love him to pieces. We've been best buddies for 10 years now. Eddie was a stray kitten that kept coming around my parents' house so I ended up adopting him. In a way it's kind of like he found me - there was an instant attachment and since the beginning he's been my baby. And he's been with me since I lived at home to when I moved to my first grown-up apartment to where I live now.

Besties, always and forever

Eddie throughout the years

Even though it's been 10 years, it doesn't seem like it's been that long because Eddie still acts like the kitten he was when I first adopted him. He still small, does daily sprints around my apartment, loves to play fetch with his favorite toys and purrs like crazy when I give him a good belly rub. He's always there to greet me when I get home from work or the gym and I look forward to coming home to the little guy.

Eddie's happy dance when Mom comes home

Last Thursday, I took Eddie to the vet for an annual checkup and to get treatment for some recent over-grooming of the belly area. The appointment went really well - the vet said Eddie is in excellent health and prescribed some medication for the belly licking. It was super routine. Eddie had even been on the medication once before in his life for the same issue. So we went home and I gave him his first dose. It was life as usual until Saturday morning. I woke up and immediately noticed Eddie's breathing was shallow and rapid. I called the vet and she said it might just be a benign side effect to the medication but I could bring him in for peace of mind. So I did. When we got to the office, the vet was immediately concerned and said his breathing was definitely not normal and whisked him away to take a few x-rays. When she came back she showed me the results - Eddie had a lot of fluid build up in his lungs and needed further medical care than the office could provide. She said he needed to go to the hospital and recommended Lakeshore Veterinary Specialists. They provide 24-7 care and have many specialists that can address critical medical issues. At that point I still thought it was something that could be easily addressed and that Eddie and I would go back home that afternoon. I was in for a rude awakening when I got to the hospital. They took Eddie back immediately and had me wait in a room to speak to a critical care doc. When the doc came in, he was very serious and said Eddie was in an oxygen chamber and they were still trying to stabilize him. Then he mentioned ... congestive heart failure. I nearly had a heart attack. Eddie had just been to the vet a few days ago and was given a clean bill of health. I couldn't understand how his health had deteriorated so quickly. The vet said they were still evaluating but it seemed like the likely cause for the lung and breathing issues. He also said Eddie's heart was enlarged - a sign of heart disease. It was clear they were doing what they could to stabilize Eddie but they might not be able to in time. The vet also said if it is indeed congestive heart failure Eddie would need to be on meds the rest of his life - and that his life expectancy would be a year at most. I was crying away by that point and could barely sign the papers for the recommended treatment plan. For the rest of the day, I continued to get updates on Eddie's status - the same - and went back to visit him a few times. Each time I saw him was so hard - he was in the oxygen chamber but still couldn't breathe. My heart was breaking for him - no one likes to see their baby in pain. Before leaving to go home in the evening, the critical care doc told me another vet was on the way to administer an echocardiogram to get more information about Eddie's heart and lungs. He said once they had those results they would be better equipped to move forward with a diagnosis and treatment. So there was nothing left to do but wait. Around 9:30pm, the vet that did the echocardiogram called. I braced myself for the worst but ... she had good news! She said based on Eddie's health history, his recent physical exam, and the echocardiogram results, she believed he had a rare reaction to the medication he was prescribed for his belly licking. She explained in some cats that type of medication can cause a rapid fluid buildup in the lungs causing congestive heart failure symptoms. What's more, this reaction can happen even if the cat has taken the medication before with no reaction. She said he was on a diuretic and believed his symptoms would ease through the night after going to the bathroom a few more times to get rid of excess fluid. Relief. Total relief. I was still worried since I knew his breathing wasn't better yet but the vet was hopeful and said she felt positive about the situation. The next morning, I got a call at 7:30am. The vet that cared for him through the night had more good news. Eddie was out of the oxygen chamber, breathing normally on his own and had even started eating again! The vet said she expected he would be ready to go home that afternoon as long as he continued to remain stable with no fluid buildup. I visited him in the morning and was finally able to pick him up late afternoon to take him home. He was pretty skittish that evening - I think the medications were still wearing off - and he couldn't relax or sit still. But by morning he was curled up and asleep on my bed.

At home, at last!

These next few days I'm monitoring and logging Eddie's breathing every few hours and he has a follow-up appointment on Friday to review the log and also to get another echocardiogram to make sure there is no long-term heart damage. For now, things are looking good and I'm so grateful my baby's life was spared. I consider it a complete miracle. Eddie's breathing has been normal so far and he has been all purrs. He even started to play a bit this morning and bit my hand! I'm still afraid to leave him alone for very long but I know as the days go by he is getting stronger again. And will hopefully be at 100 percent again soon!

Eddie spent last night curled up in my arms

Tell me: How was your weekend and have you ever experienced a pet emergency?- ST

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Over the weekend, Coach Matt emailed me to confirm the date for my next goal race, the Chicago Rock 'n' Roll 10k. When I looked at my calendar to check when the race is I realized ... it's only one month away! It's crazy how fast this summer is going.

So these next few weeks, my focus is 100 percent on the Chicago race. I want a new PR so bad I can taste it. And I know I have a really good chance of achieving one, too, provided the next few weeks of training go well and weather conditions cooperate on race day. The Chicago course and big-race atmosphere play to my strengths so now's as good a time as any to take a chance and run as hard as my legs will allow. This week, however, is a down week in training - two rest days!! But even though I'm running fewer miles, I think the quality is still there with my Tuesday workout and Saturday long run. Here's the plan:Monday: 4 glue miles + TRX + Strength TrainingTuesday: 7 mile workout, inc. 5 repeats of 4 min @6:40 pace + 1 min @6:30 pace. No standing rest, all continuous work.Wednesday: 3 recovery miles + Y-Fuse?Thursday: 4 glue miles + Y-BlitzFriday: Rest DaySaturday: 14 mile runSunday: Rest DayTotal: 32 milesAlong with putting more focus on running, I'm also being more careful about nutrition. Here's a sample day of meals for this week:Breakfast: 1 Ozery Breakfast Round + 1 Tbsp PB + 1 serving plain low-fat kefirSnack 1: 1 serving plain non-fat yogurt + 1/8 cup Bear Naked Fit GranolaSnack 2: 2 cups raw vegetablesLunch: 2 cups Earthbound Farms Herb Mix + Tuna Rice Salad*+ BananaSnack 3: Picky BarDinner: Chicken Sausage Zucchini Pasta** + Steamed Spinach + 1 cup blueberries

My new favorite breakfast - one of these delicious rounds topped with PB!

I'm actually pretty excited about all the nutritious eats! I know I need to be as careful as possible most of the week since I'm going to a Brewers game and tailgate on Wednesday and Summerfest on Friday and it's likely I'll stray a bit from my plan on those evenings. But like I always say, everything in moderation!

My questions for you:

What are you currently training for? Are you doing anything different during this round of training?

What's on your meal plan this week?

When you attend social activities (sporting events, music festivals, going out, etc.) do you stick with your eating plan or do you allow yourself a bit of leeway?

A final note - If you're interested in running a Rock 'n' Roll marathon or half marathon race this year, you can use the code RUNWITHSUN to save $15 off a domestic race or £3 off an international race. Hope to see you at a race this year!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

As much as I'd love to run strong and fast during every race, some races are just kinda ... meh. With my recent calf issues, I decided to treat the Rock 'n Sole Quarter Marathon as a training run. I was okay with that. I knew I wasn't really in the best shape to crank out a speedy pace, plus whatever time I ended up with would be an automatic PR since this was my first time racing a quarter marathon.

The course map

Coach Matt gave me a plan that seemed very doable - treat the first two miles as a warmup and then start picking up the pace. He said this would cut the race down to 4 miles and mentally make it seem more manageable. I thought this was smart and I liked the idea of working on a slower race start since lately I've been running the first half mile of races way too fast. When I signed up for Rock 'n Sole back in December, I thought it would be a goal race for me so listed an ambitious finish time. I also used a past race result for a seeded start. As a result, I got to start in Corral A - the very front of the race. Since I wasn't planning on racing all out - especially not during the first two miles, I thought about moving back a few corrals. But ultimately decided to stay put. I would use this as practice to run my own race and not get distracted by how fast other people around me were running. During the first mile, I executed Coach Matt's plan perfectly. I didn't look at my watch a single time and my pace was right on. I got passed by a bunch of people but reminded myself to run my own race. Miles 2-4 is where my race started going downhill. Instead of getting faster after mile 2, my legs got locked into a slower pace and wouldn't get going. And instead of trying my usual tricks to run faster - insert surges, reel in runners in front of me, etc. - I told myself I was doing a training run and I should continue holding back. It was kind of like I mentally gave up during these miles, and even now I'm not quite sure why. I psyched myself out and chose the easy option. Very unimpressive. Mile 5 was the Hoan Bridge and my pace slowed quite a bit. To get up the bridge I avoided looking to see how much hill was left and instead repeated to myself that there would be no walking. Do not walk the hill!! During the downhill, my legs actually felt ready to take off but I purposely held back since I don't 100 percent trust my calf yet. Also, this downhill was the very place I really strained my calf a few years ago so I wanted to avoid a repeat of that race. At mile 6, I finally felt ready to run. Took me long enough, right? I latched on to a girl in front of me and followed her as the course wove through Summerfest grounds. With a quarter mile to go, I kicked past her - and two other ladies in front of us. Last mile split was 7:05 and the final 0.55 was even faster.

I wasn't happy with my time but it did get me back into racing longer than the 5k distance again - my first longer race since last fall. Also, I know what I need to work on to race well at my next goal race, the Chicago Rock 'n' Roll 10k in July. By the time that race rolls around I should be ready to lay it on the line again and run strong and fast.

A beautiful finisher's medal!

My questions for you:

Do you ever use races as training runs?

What types of goals do you set for races if not running for time?

Have you ever 'given up' during a race? If so, how did you get back on track after?

Remember - If you're interested in running a Rock 'n' Roll marathon or half marathon race this year, you can use the code RUNWITHSUN to save $15 off a domestic race or £3 off an international race. Hope to see you at a race this year!- ST

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

After months of dark days and chilly weather, I think it's finally safe to say that summer is here to stay!Which means it's time to pack away all those winter running clothes and put on lightweight summer styles. You all know that I run for Oiselle, so here are a few of my top picks for running through the warm weather months! In addition to buying online, if you live in the Milwaukee area you can check out some of these styles at Performance Running Outfitters!

Stripped Tank - Great for showing off your shoulders and I love the longer length!